Beaufort County looking for public’s help with cold cases

BEAUFORT COUNTY, SC (WTOC) - Battling time, a lack of information, and evidence, investigators in Beaufort County release a series of cold case files over the course of the year with the hope of drumming up tips.

If you subscribe to the email and text chain through Nixle with the Beaufort County Sheriffs Office, you’ve received a half-dozen cold case notifications in the past two months alone.

That’s because at the anniversary of each case, an alert is put out to help refresh the details of that particular investigation. Some of the more recent cold case notifications in Beaufort County go back to the mid-80’s.

“We’re still hopeful. You know, as time goes on, the likelihood of solving it does diminish, no question about it," said Captain Bob Bromage, Beaufort County Sheriff’s Office.

Since some of the earlier cold cases the sheriff’s office is looking into, technology police use to identify suspects has changed, and sometimes that comes into play.

“In 1999, technology again evolved into this incredibly sensitive DNA tool that we have now where we get touch DNA, epithelial cells from your skin," Bromage said.

In other cases, too much time goes by, and the only way police can solve these cases is with the help of the public.

“Absolutely critical to have the public’s assistance, because we work off information. Law enforcement works off of information. We’re not there when these crimes occur, so we do need witnesses, we do need information to move them forward,” Bromage said.

Bromage added Sheriff P.J. Tanner started the cold case initiative back in 1999 in Beaufort County.